Joseph f



(No Model.)

. J. P.VV RADERS. YIELDING DEVICE.

Patented Deo. 22, ,1896.

me Nonms frias co. P'Hmouwa, wAs

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOSEPH F. BADER-S, OF NEY YORK, N. Y.

YIELDING DEVICE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 573,534, datedDecember` 22, 1896.

Application filed Tune '7, 1895. Renewed May 20, 1896. Serial No.592,368. (No model.)

To all whom. t may concern:

Be it known that l, JOSEPH F. RADERS, a citizen of the United States,residing at New York, in the county and State of New York, have inventednew and useful Improvements in Yielding Devices, of which the followingis a specification.

My invention relates particularly to apparatus designed to preventsudden jars in starting a load by the application of a force or jarscaused by variations in a force acting on a load.

I will first describe an article embodying the features of my invention,and will then point out the novel features in the claims.

In the accompanying drawing the ligure is a cross-sectional view, partlyin side view, of a device embodying my improvement.

The article which I have chosen for illustration represents a yieldingdevice which may with advantage be interposed between the traces of ahorse and the point of attachment to a movable vehicle. I do not,however, wish to limit myself to the application of my invention to thisspecific device, but intend it to be applicable to various yieldingdevices where the same or similar conditions exist.

The device shown in the drawing combines two springs attached at theirends to two metal plates or heads, each provided with a ring or hook.The springs offer resistance to the separation of the heads and areaided by means of a piston attached to one plate or head working in acylinder attached to the other head.

Means are provided for increasing the resistance offered to the movementof the piston the farther it travels in the cylinder.

In the drawing two helical springs O O are attached at their ends to twometal plates or heads A and B, provided with a ring Ct and a hook h,respectively. If now this apparatus be attached to the traces andwhiffletree of a vehicle, the yielding of the springs will prevent anysudden jars due to the variation in the amount of force applied to thetraces, but the springs are apt to stretch beyond their limit ofresistance and break. To obviate this difliculty, a means is employedwhereby the resistance to the separating of the heads A and B isincreased as the dista-nce between the heads increases, or, in otherwords, the farther the heads separate the greater is the resistanceoffered to farther separation. The means for effecting this increase ofresistance is the following: Into the head A is screwed a hollowcylinder D in such a manner as to project therefrom parallel to andbetween the springs O and in the direction of the head B. The head Acloses one end of this cylinder, and a cover E, provided with astuffing-box F, is screwed over and closes the other end. In thecylinder D works a piston G, attached to the end of a piston-rod H,which passes through the cover E and the stuffing-box F and is securelyfastened to the head B. In the piston G are holes g g, through whichpass tapering rods k k, securely held in a disk K, placed near thestuiflng-box end of the cylinder D. This disk K may be held stationaryin the cylinder D or may be free to revolve around the piston-rod Il,but is prevented from reciprocating with the piston. The rods 7c,instead of being attached to the disk K and free at the other end, maybe firmly held at both ends by any suitable means, as by passing into orthrough the heads of the cylinder. The diameter of the rods is greaterat the disk K, being either as great as or greater than the diameter ofthe holes f and gradually diminishes toward the other end, being theresomewhat less than the diameter of the holes g.

The piston G may consist of a small piece of metal or other material, orit may, as shown in the drawing, consist of a solid cylinder g2, ofrubber or other elastic material, placed between two metal disks g'gs,so that as these disks press against the solid cylinder g2 they tend toflatten it and press it against the interior surface of the cylinder D,thus preventing leakage. The piston G may be free to turn on thepiston-rod H, so as to allow for4 any twisting occurring between theheads A and B.

The cylinder D with the parts therein arranged as described is filledwith oil', glycerin, or some other iuid. If now a force be applied toseparate the heads A and B, the springs O will yield and the piston Grwill IOO move toward the stuffing-box end of the cylinder D. The iiuidcontained in the cylinder will flow through the spaces around the rods7c in the holes g, but as the piston continues to advance the rods 7c,because of their increasing diameter, will more an d more nearly closethe holes g, thus offering an increased resistance to the passage of thefluid through the same and a corresponding increase of resistance to themovement of the pistou.- It will thus be seen that the farther the headsA and B are separated the greater will be the force necessary tocontinue such separation, and therefore the greater will be the forcenecessary to break the springs. lf, however, the diameter of the rods kvaries in such a manner as to completely close the holes g before thesprings C have been stretched to their elastic limit, farther separationof the heads A and B will be impossible and the springs cannot bebroken. .It will easily be understood that when the force is removed thesprings C will bring the piston back to its original position, the fluidflowing back through the spaces in the holes g, these spaces constantlyincreasing in size. The number of rods 7c and holes g correspondingthereto is immaterial, as is also the number and mode of arrangement ofthe springs C.

For delicate mechanisms, Where the desired increase of resistance issmall, a gas may be employed in the cylinder D instead of a liquid.

By reversing the direction of tapering the rods k and by proportioningthe parts so as to allow the plates or heads to approach each other theabove-described yielding device could be employed for compressioninstead of for tension.

\Vithout limiting myself to any special construction, what I claim asnew, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

l. The combination of oppositely-moving heads or plates, a cylinder forholding a fluid secured to one of the heads or plates, a piston providedwith openings for the flow of the fluid from one face to the opposite,secured to the other head or plate, means for varying the area of theseopenings with the position of the piston, and springs extending betweenand secured to the heads, substantially as specified.

2. The combination of oppositely-moving heads or plates, a cylinder forholding a fluid secured to one of the heads or plates, passages or ductsplacing the two ends of the cylinder in communication, a pistonsupported by the head opposite to that to which the cylinder is securedand movable lengthwise in said cylinder, means for throttling the flowof the fluid through said ducts or passages by the relative movement ofthe piston and cylinder, and springs extending between and secured tosaid heads, substantially as specified. Y

3. The combination with springs attached to plates or heads, of a hollowcylinder, containing a fluid, fastened to one head, and arrangedsymmetrically with respect to the springs; a piston, working in saidcylinder and connected through the medium of a piston-rod with the otherhead; holes traversing said piston, to allow the flow of the fluid fromone end ot the cylinder to the other; tapering rods, passing into saidholes, and prevented from reciprocating with the piston, whereby theopening in the holes is increased or diminished as the pistonreciprocates, all arranged substantially as described, to vary theamount of resistance offered to the separation of the plates or headsfor different amounts of suchseparation.

4L. The combination with helical springs C, attached to plates or headsA and B, said heads having a ring a and a hook b, respectively, of ahollow cylinder D, containing a liquid, fastened to the head A,symmetrical to the spiral springs; a piston G, working in thecylinderl), and traversed by holes g, and connected to the plate or headB, through the medium of a piston-rod Il; tapering rods k passing intothe holes g and prevented from reciprocating with the piston, allarranged substantially as described to increase the amount of resistanceoffered to the separation of the plates or heads Aand B, as the distancebetween them increases.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

JOSEPH F. RADERS. lVitnesses ANTHONY GREF, R. T. WALKER.

